We Were Never Human
by Quizicalcoatl
Summary: Yo, my name's Matthias Densen, more commonly known as Denmark! I'm going to save the world one day, but in the meantime, I think I'll save my family. My bizarre, ridiculous, loving family.
1. Chapter 1

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T for language (although a bit less than usual-thanks, Sealand), slight violence, mentions of death, horrible puns and sometimes Sw'd'n T'lk

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: SUP. Finished Camp NaNoWriMo (35,000 words in under 30 days I'm so happy!), so here's my newest fic! Enjoy!

I'm aware Sweden's canon physical age is 21 and Finland's is 20, but I made them older because it's normal for them to be adopting kids when they're PHYSICALLY 20/21, but MENTALLY much, much older... However, as humans, 20/21 is most often a little young to be a adopting a child (average US age range is 25-50). Sorry-I usually stick to all the canon ages and stuff, but I would feel really awkward writing it like that.

And whoa, a lot of things I wanted to change with this chapter. Sorry for possibly spamming your email with "updated" notifications.

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: One:

It began, as all immensely cliche stories do, on a dark and stormy night.

The darkness made for better cover as I darted over roofs, my feet hardly touching the ground. Miles were crossed in minutes, and although the rain stung at my face, I hardly noticed it. This night was too important to waste.

I leave skid marks from my shoes on the shingles as I slide to a stop. I'm gasping for breath. My shoulders heave and my heartbeat thumps in my veins.

The roof I wait on looks nondescript, but I only pause briefly before I jump down to the porch. The distance is shorter than I am, but not by much, and I sink into a crouch before bouncing back up into a standing position. Sharp pain jolts through my ankles, but I force myself to move. The pounding rain hides any sound.

The door is closed (and so are all the windows, with no peephole visible in the door, but I stay to the side anyway). I trace the edges of the doorway with shaky hands, skin pale in the dim moonlight.

I grin as I feel three slashes in the wood under my fingertips. Perfect-these signs are used to signal others, but I don't think they've realized I know their code yet. I whisper a thanks to whoever I pray to nowadays, and test the closest window. No, not this one-I move on to the next one, and it gives.

Time is of the essence-I open the window and jump through-but stealth is just as important.

The inside of the house is dark. They must be trying to make it look like the house is empty. I grin again, because this will be fun. I run a hand through blonde hair that's still spiky despite the wet outdoors, and catch my breath as I glance around the room.

I rush to the other side of the wide room. It takes only a second or two. Now, I'm standing, my back pressed against the olive green wall.

I can hear muffled sounds coming from somewhere below me. Conversation and... Something else, something I haven't heard before. I'm on the first floor, so that must be the basement. I smirk, mind racing as I make my way through the house. I'm not too afraid about being caught. Father would call it cocky. I call it sensible. If they do find me, what're they gonna do, catch me?

I check up on places like these regularly. They're criminal hideouts. But in my years of working undercover like this, I've never heard anything other than talking.

So I creep to where I know the basement door is (I've only come here a few times, spread out over months-I don't think they know I've found this place yet).

I sneak down the dimly lit stairs, still concealed by a brick wall. My footsteps are light and I try my best to avoid creaky steps.

I can hear them much better now. A man is shouting, and I hear metal squeak, followed by a grunt of pain.

It must have been recent. The captive is fighting back. I tiptoe closer to the empty doorway. I can make out voices.

"Goddammit, what else can he do?" a rough, male voice demanded. The sound was followed by the click of handcuffs.

"I-" the woman cursed "-dunno. Ya need'a take 'im out!" She hissed in pain.

I darted around the corner, taking stock of the room in an instant. The woman held a snapped rope in her pale hands and blinked blue eyes as she saw me turn the corner so quickly. A bruise was forming on her forearm. The man had darker skin, and his red-brown hair stuck up in messy spikes. He was trying to pin down a stranger, already handcuffed and fighting back nonetheless.

In seconds, the woman was thrown against the wall and I was hauling the dark-haired one away. I finished with a sharp kick to his skull. I panted as the woman stood again and lunged. Brave move, but I jumped out of the way in a split second and she skidded to a halt, turning on me. I threw her hard enough to make her dizzy, and she almost fell.

"Come and fight me on fair terms," she spat. "Human-ta-human, Denmark. Let's see if ya can beat me in a real fight, an' not just run away."

"Tryin'a trick you," a low, heavily-accented voice came from behind me, making me startle. "Know's yer better if yer fast. Keep goin'."

I didn't have to glance back to know it was the hostage. "Yeah, yeah," I reply, but my pride is stung.

The woman's expression hardens. I jump forward. With the help of my superhuman speed, I manage to knock her unconscious with a few well-placed hits.

I turn to the man, kneeling beside him to unlock the chains holding him to the wall. When he's free, he sits up straight and tall-he's even taller than me-and nods his thanks to me.

"I don't know when they're waking up. Ya gotta get outta here," I say, gesturing up the stairs. I pause to take my phone out of my pocket. "Here, uh, call the ER and police or something."

The blonde simply considers me silently with a sharp-eyed blue glare. I notice, again, that he really is tall. "Handcuffs," he grunts.

"Oh," I say, looking down at his hands. "Right." It takes me a moment, but I manage to help him slip his hands through the links without much blood. "Here ya go." I pass him the phone.

He has rectangular glasses left slightly askew on his face, and he straightens them now with one calloused hand. His other hand pointedly does not take the phone, and he makes his way over to the unconscious would-be kidnappers. He kneels beside the man, touching a hand to the floor and closing his eyes in concentration.

The stone shifts and writhes, but he takes a handful-oh God, a handful of the stone floor-and stretches it across the man's torso, where it hardens and sticks. He repeats this a few times, then moves on to the woman, binding her firmly to the floor. I stare openly as he rises to his feet again.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"You?" the stranger returns without answering.

I grin, but it's not as enthusiastic as usual, and my eyes are still wide with shock. "I'm Denmark!"

He hesitates, then returns, "Sw'den."

"Sw'den?" I wonder. He frowns slightly.

"S-Sweden," he corrects, eyes narrowed, "Why're you here?"

"Rescuing you, of course!" I say, then point at the people halfway in the floor. "How'd ya do that? That's crazy, man!"

"How'd you run so fast?" he asks. He shrugs. "Don't know. Always have."

I grin. "Well, Sweden, d'ya wanna report this whole kidnapping thing to the police? Or should we just tell 'em 'bout these two?" I jerk my thumb at them.

He says nothing. "Human name?"

I glance up at him. "Maybe later. Once you've saved my life, and I know you weren't put here on purpose to spy on me or something."

Sweden shrugs. "Fair enough. I should go."

"Yeah, me too," I agree, and we slowly make our way out. I pause at the door and make a call. They know my number, so I just give them the address, tell them there's two people for them to pick up and hurry after Sweden.

I smirk up at him, "Hey, kid!"

He looks down at me. "What makes you think 'm younger than you?"

"Magic powers," I tell him, my voice dead serious. "I can make things happen with just my brain."

Sweden narrows his eyes at me, then sighs quietly. I continue, "Anyway, Sweden! Are you like me?"

"I can't run fast," he says.

"I can also live through high G-Force pressure, think really fast, and see things better than you!" I say. I beam, and add, "What can you do, though?"

"Make objects and tech," he says. "And technokinesis."

"Techno-what?" I question. He glares at me. I find myself shrinking away.

"Technokinesis," he says. "I understand machines."

"Oh," I say. "Anyways, d'ya wanna team up? I'm lonely doing this all by myself!"

He considers me for a minute or two, and I shift uncomfortably. He's glaring at me, and I don't know why.

"Nowhere else to go," he says at last, shrugging. "Okay. Roommates, though. I have no house anymore."

I stare at him. That went... Faster than I thought it would be. I thought it would take at least a bit of convincing, and honestly doubted it would work at all. A grin creeps across my expression. "Okay! We better start walking, then, my house is this way!"

He catches up to me, our strides nearly the same length (his are a little longer, but it's not my fault he got the insanely tall genes and I didn't!) as we make our way slowly through the rain.

He's the first of six to come with me like that. It's my first time winning someone over in a battle. Usually they just run, thinking I'm another kidnapper. Sometimes they thank me quietly before forgetting about me in favor of their families. Sometimes they go as far as to hit me (or try to-it never works). But... None of them have acted quite like this before.

Well... One down, four to go.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T for language (but less than usual due to Sealand), slight violence, mentions of death, horrible puns and sometimes Sw'd'n T'lk

Pairings: SuFin and DenNor!

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Two:

The third and fifth members of our little superhuman group we found in a ditch, nearly two months later.

"Uh... Who's that?" I ask. Sweden (he still hasn't told me his human name) glances in the direction I'm pointing, and immediately pulls over.

I try to look at him through the mirror, but he's too far away to see anything clearly. From what I can tell, the man laying in the ditch is about fifteen years old. The means he's only about three years younger than me, and two years younger than Berwald (see, I can totally do math!). His hair is so light a shade of blonde it almost looks bleached. I can't see his eyes from here, but his slender form (is he just thin or is he starving, since his clothes don't seem to fit him and his pale skin is gaunt and waxy) is curled around something.

I look closer, and I slowly figure out what he holding. It's... Not a something, it's a someone he's protecting.

"Alright, let's go help out," I say, jumping out into the midsummer heat. Sweden grumbles something unintelligible and I don't try to understand.

I race to the stranger's side and kneel. "Hey, are you okay, mister?" (I have decent manners, see! Sometimes...)

He cracks open his eyes. They're glossy and shallow, the blue revealing no emotion. "Go away," he mumbles, pulling the child closer.

"Dude, we just found you and your kid on the side of the road like this and you expect us to just leave you here?" I ask, but I lean back a little bit.

The child hasn't moved at all, nor made any sort of noise. I'm starting to worry.

"He's my brother, not my kid," the stranger says, then repeats, "Go away."

"What's yer name?" Sweden wonders. He ignores us. "We can help, y'know."

"I don't need help," the man insists, although he clearly does. His voice is more threatening this time as he tries to push himself up. "Go away!"

"Dude, calm down," I say, half-rising to stumble back a couple steps.

He closes his eyes in concentration, and a flash blinds me.

"Dude," I say. I look at my new handcuffs. "Dude, no. I have seen handcuffs way too many times this year. First with the police accident and then the second time with that kidnapping thing and now you."

"The second time you weren't the one wearing them," Sweden grumbles. The two of us stand and step a few paces back.

The stranger hauls himself into a sitting position, eyes glazed with exhaustion. The eight-year-old he's clutching to his chest has delicate, ghostly white features and silver hair, and he's oddly small for his age. They both are.

"Okay, okay. Let us reintroduce ourselves?" I say. "I'm Denmark."

"Sweden," he adds.

The man considers us for a moment, clutching the child closer to his chest like he's afraid we'll attack. "Judging by your lack of reaction, you're like me."

"What d'ya mean, 'like you?'" I wonder. Sweden sighs and shoots me another of his all-too-common glares (I've learned to see the difference between his resting expression and his glare-his resting expression is scary, while his glare is GODDAMN TERRIFYING).

"I'm Norway," he spits, his voice full of venom. "If we're going by our aliases. What do you want with Iceland and I?"

"Yo, I don't have a problem with ya," I tell him. "Uh, just saw ya on the side of the road and you looked kinda dead-ish? And starving? So we wanted to help?"

"Because you think you're superheroes," Norway snorts. "Yeah. I know. I can take care of myself just fine."

"Why don't you like it? We save people! We're heroes!" I grin.

"There's no such thing as heroes," he says. "Only the villains of different people's stories."

"No such thing as real villains, then, either!" I hold out my hands to Sweden, and he quickly helps me slip out of them (sometimes things are just too ironic, I think, remembering when we met). "Ya gonna let us save you and your brother or not? Iceland doesn't look like he's feeling too hot."

"He has a fever," Norway deadpans.

"Same thing," I say with a shrug.

"Even more of a reason I shouldn't go. Your medical knowledge is clearly incorrect." Still, his eyes aren't so emotionless anymore. Granted, the only thing I can see (I think-it might just be a trick of the light) is fear, but at least it's better than nothing.

"It's a saying... Fever... Any headaches? Sore throat? Cough?" Sweden asks, tentatively moving forward. When Norway doesn't go on the defensive again, he puts a hand against Iceland's forehead. The boy stirs feebly.

"He had a bad cough," Norway says. "And said he hurt everywhere before he fell unconscious. I'm not sure about anything else."

"Pro'ly a bad fl'," Sweden says. "Those're common sympt'ns."

Norway stares. "Ah, repeat that last sentence? I couldn't understand you."

Sweden repeats slowly, making sure to sound out each syllable as he speaks, "Those are common symptoms of the flu. He should be indoors, in a warm bed, not here. This heat won't help his head."

Norway glances between the two of us, fearless. "We ran away." It's said simply and matter-of-factly.

"We have a big house," I offer.

Sweden glances at me. "You do this to all the random people you find?"

"Nope, just the good ones!" My grin widens. Norway narrows his eyes, then coughs lowly.

"Fine..." he trails off. "No catches?"

"Well, you're gonna have to help us make money eventually with odd jobs and things," I shrug. "But we can help Iceland and it sounds like you're catching the flu or whatever he has, too-with no strings attached. You don't even have to tell us your name. Sweden and I've been living together for months and I still have no clue about his human name."

"He did the same to me, mostly," Sweden says noncommittally. "Want to help Iceland."

"Okay," Norway says. He stands up and carries Iceland with him. He really is bony-I can practically see his ribs through his shirt.

"Alright! Let's go! I assume we're abandoning this mission?" I ask Sweden, who has claimed shotgun while Norway rides in the back, trying to buckle Iceland's barely-conscious form into the car with shaky hands.

"Yeah," Sweden agrees.

"What mission?" Norway questions as we speed down the road. It's still much slower than I can run, and I'm impatient.

"Yo, we're superheroes! Ya gotta know what that means!" I exclaim. "We go save people!"

Norway sighs, "Sure, I'll do that, too. As long as Iceland isn't pulled into it yet."

"Can he do something too?" I wonder curiously.

"Magma manipulation," Norway yawns. "I'm tired because of my Essokinesis. You guys don't look too smart, so to clarify, that means that I can make things happen with just my brain. Please don't be serial killers in disguise, and goodnight."

"It's like 1 in the afternoon?" I try to say, but Norway is already asleep. Sweden and I glance at each other. We're soon to have a third person on our team, and eventually, I'm sure Iceland will join us too. He seems nice, despite the fact that I have never spoken to him or ever even seen him completely conscious.

Good job, me. Totally the best way to choose to trust someone.

Two down, three to go.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T (you know why by now)

Pairings: SuFin and DenNor

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Three:

The third was more of a scary accident than anything, but of course, we're happy to have him with us now.

I glance around the abandoned plaza. "Okay, so I admit this is a bad situation-"

"Bad situation?" Norway demands. "We have to dismantle a bomb before it blows us all up! None of us know how to dismantle a bomb-" He pauses, and glances at Sweden. "Well, unless it counts for your Tech-"

"No," Sweden says. "Weapons don't work."

"Well that's useless," I say, glancing around. "We should at least find it, right?"

Norway and Sweden nod. I rake my eyes across the plaza, "Hey, what's that over there?" Maybe a bomb. I wouldn't know, I've never seen one before. In any case, there's something hidden over there, under a pile of red-and-orange fallen leaves.

"Let's check," Norway says, and Sweden and I follow him without hesitation. We've fought side-by-side for almost a year now, and knew him months before that, when he and his younger brother Iceland were sick. They ran away. Neither have told me why yet.

I jump aside. A bullet whistles past me, and I turn just in time to see it shoot over Sweden's head. The gun drops from the hand of the man behind him as he collapses.

Sweden's expression is truly terrified. That bullet nearly hit him, and that man was about to kill him. I would be terrified too.

"W-what..." Norway whips around to scan the buildings. He calls, "Who's there?"

"Just me! Be quiet, I won't hit you! I'll explain it all later!" an unfamiliar voice shouts back, guileless despite the fact that he just ended a life. I can't quite place where the voice is coming from, but I'm too busy staring at the man who was trying to kill Sweden. Or at least, what's left of him. Blood pumps from his head. A perfect shot.

"Okay," Sweden agrees.

"There's no bomb, just stay there for a little," they assure us. I identify it as a male.

"Okay," Sweden says again.

I glance at him. They won't be able to hit me, so I'm not worried, but Sweden and Norway are out in the open. And Sweden's just...

Norway slides over to me. "Idiot," he mutters as he takes my hand. "Get me out of the way if there's another bullet."

"Sure!" I agree. I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull him out of the way in time for fear of dislocating his shoulder, but if I have to, I'll at least be able to jump in the way and block the bullet.

It's silent for a little bit, and eventually the three of us start walking towards the 'bomb' again. I don't know what it really is.

A few more gunshots and we whirl around to see three more bodies. Perfect shots through the head, all of them. Well-practiced but effortless, life-saving but lethal.

"Okay, that should be it!" the strange voice says happily. I try to find the source, and I only figure it out when I see a man sling a sniper's rifle over his shoulder and clamber down from a roof.

He bounces up to us, "Hi! I know you three-you're Denmark, Sweden, and Norway! I'm Finland!"

Finland smiles innocently as he holds one soft hand out for someone to shake, and I glance at the four people he just killed.

"Pleasure," Sweden mumbles at last, shaking Finland's hand firmly. Finland smiles wider, brushing his blonde hair back and stuttering something about "no, the pleasure is all mine, really it's an honor to meet you" or some polite crap like that. He apologizes for nearly shooting Sweden, but explains that he's superhuman, too, and he never misses his mark (he taps the gun meaningfully here, still smiling as innocently as a goddamn six-year-old).

"Nice to meet ya, Finland!" I say, grinning. "Gotta say, pretty cool superpower ya got there."

He smiles modestly, and even blushes a bit, glancing down at his feet in what seems to be embarrassment. "Well, I-I just practice a lot."

That really doesn't make me feel more comfortable around him.

"A-anyways, do you have everything settled? Or should I come help you with the last few?" he offers. "It'd be no problem, really!"

I've learned over the years that phrases like that are secret non-blunt people code for 'please please please let me help I'm begging you,' so I give in pretty easily. Sweden and Norway don't seem opposed to the idea, so Finland comes with us, chattering all the way.

I think I like him already.

•this time skip is brought to you by England's mother, Britannia

We figure out there's not any more baddies hanging around. Before we can disappear into the security of our human names and aliases again, back into the comfort of anonymity, Finland asks, "Uh... So you guys work together, right? Just the three of you?"

He's trying desperately not to be rude. My knowledge of non-blunt people code only goes so far, however. Thankfully, Norway swoops in to answer in the same code, and soon enough I blurt out, "Hey! D'ya wanna come live with us?"

Finland nearly drops his gun, then catches it and nods fiercely. "Yes, uh. Yes, I do!"

"Looks like we've got another member of the team of fabulousness!" I grin. I made up that name just now, I'm sure they'll love it!

"That is definitely the lamest thing I've heard you say all day," Norway deadpans.

Ah. He's just crushing my dreams again (we're still holding hands, though).

Finland skips happily along beside us as we head for the car. I'm driving, because Norway's only seventeen and also doesn't know how to drive very well yet, and because Sweden's only nineteen, and meanwhile I'm twenty (shut up that's a huge difference). I don't know how old Finland is, but he can't be older than, say, sixteen. Therefore, I assume he's exactly sixteen years old.

My mind threatens to go on a rather dark tangent about him already being used to so much blood and death at such a young age, but I decide it's not worth the effort and instead drift in and out of a thoughtless haze, only brought back to reality by the occasional scream from the back seat. I swerve the car wildly and hope those pedestrians wrote their wills already.

We get out of the car and Tino is only slightly shaken. Norway goes ahead to keep ten-year-old Iceland from melting something (or someone) with lava when he sees a stranger with a gun enter the house (even if Tino is a very nice-looking, friendly stranger with a gun).

"I'm in love," Sweden says plainly, as soon as the door closes behind them.

I laugh and reach up to sling an arm around his shoulders, forcing him to bend almost double. I tell him as I lead him towards the front door, "I knew it. You're too predictable, IKEA dude."

Long story short, Sweden REALLY likes IKEA and there are some things you can never live down. I'll let you interpret that as you wish.

We enter the room to find Finland (gun still slung over his shoulder) playing Legos with Iceland. I hurry to join them. Norway and Sweden hang back, probably to gossip about us in their scary, emotionless voices.

I glance between Norway and Sweden and Finland. It's just the four of us. Just the four of us against the world.

Three down, two to go.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: I have no idea why Denmark can't differentiate between hot and cold, so don't ask me.

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Four:

"I'm fifteen," Iceland complains, five years later (who would've guessed?). "I'm almost as old as Finland was when he first joined you, so why can't I help?"

"Because you are my little brother and I care too much," Norway tells him, giving him the most awkward of all awkward hugs. Seriously, they could probably win an award if there were awards for that kinda thing.

Have I mentioned that whenever I see the two of them together, I can't help but notice how neither have completely recovered? Sure, they're healthy now, but they both have that permanent half-starved look about them. It's the the kind that makes you feel guilty for even being hungry in the same room, and even more so for mentioning it aloud.

I turn my attention to more happy things, like Iceland's up-and-coming sixteenth birthday, and the adoption Sweden and Finland are in the first stages of planning (and yet, somehow, they still don't know each other's human names. It seems so unnecessary now, and I wonder if we'll ever reveal our true identity to the rest of this family-ish setup we've got going).

"How about when he's sixteen?" I ask.

Norway lets go of his unfortunate little brother and turns to me. Iceland glances between us apprehensively, saying, "I'd like that."

"Hm," Norway says. "You promised me Iceland wouldn't be pulled into this superhero stuff."

"I promised you Iceland wouldn't be pulled into this superhero stuff yet," I counter. "And I think he's plenty responsible! Definitely more than when I first started."

"How did you first start, Denmark?" Finland wonders curiously.

I avoid their eyes. "I was thirteen... My dad died and my mom left me, so I was homeless for awhile and then stuff happened with money and it doesn't matter now."

"See?" Iceland jabs a finger in my direction. "He started when he was thirteen. I don't see why I can't start now."

"No way," Norway tells him.

"Denmark wasn't being safe," Finland adds. (I have to agree with that.)

"Let's wait just one year! Less than a year, actually, since today's not your birthday," I tell him. "In the meantime, practice more! I know it's hard to practice moving lava or magma or whatever you call it around-"

"No kidding," Iceland says moodily.

"-but I'm sure we can find somewhere! Right?" I glance at Norway, and he sighs before nodding.

"Yeah. Just a year," he says, and his eyes flash with uncharacteristic emotion. He adds sternly, "But for now, you're saying safe, no matter how much you want to go get yourself killed."

Iceland grumbles something under his breath, but nods reluctantly.

"You'll make it, don't worry!" Finland smiles, then goes back to the paperwork in his hand.

Iceland huffs out a low complaint, then turns to me. "Okay, you're finding somewhere where I can practice."

"Yessir!" I grin, then tug him into another room. "So you wanna practice, and... D'ya need lava before you move it?"

Iceland sighs, "No, Denmark, I make it on my own."

"Okay!" I drop into the seat in front of our computer. "Like a park? D'ya think that'd work?"

"Maybe a really big one." Iceland shrugs. "There can't be any people around, though, that's the important thing."

"Okay!" I start searching on the computer, and we find one, eventually.

•this time skip is brought to you by Egypt's mother, Ancient Egypt

"You guys are so cool!" I shout from a safe distance away, near the trees.

"Denmark, do you even know what temperature is? Lava is hot," Norway wonders. Iceland's lava wobbles midair as he glances at me, distracted. "Iceland! Concentrate!" he snaps.

"Concentrating!" Iceland retorts, and the lava steadies again. "This takes a lot of effort, you know."

"Denmark!" Finland calls, smiling. "Come sit down and take a break! You'll tire yourself out too fast!"

I race to his side as a blur, then stop as abruptly as I can and plop down beside him. "Sure! You're not practicing?"

"What is there to practice? I've already got perfect aim," he says, shrugging.

"Didn't you have another thing too, though?" I ask. He nods.

"Yeah, but it can get dangerous," he tells me. I grin.

"I've gotta see it then," I say.

He sighs quietly, but smiles at me again. "I can do kinda what Sweden does as far as Object Manipulation, just... I make things float, and it takes a long time."

I watch him expectantly, so he gestures for me to stand up (I hear someone curse behind me, and when I glance over my shoulder, Norway is throughly dousing some fallen lava with water). I do, and he cautiously tugs at the side of the log, still sitting there.

A few seconds pass, then I see the wood start to stretch under his hand. However, it immediately launches itself into the air.

"Whoa! Damn, yeah, I see what you mean by dangerous!" I laugh as Finland hops off and pulls the log back down to Earth. He flashes me a quick little smile as more explosive cursing and sizzling noises sound from behind me.

"Sometimes it's useful for presents, but other than that it'd be more dangerous for me than for whoever I'm fighting." He shrugs. "Speaking of presents..."

"I'm getting him a bird," I say. Finland brightens as he sits back down, and I follow suit.

"Oh, wow! Sweden and I can make him a birdcage or something, then," he says. "Hard to believe he's already sixteen."

"That's in two days, Finland. I still have two days to be young," I tell him. "And I've known him for even longer than you! Cute little eight-year-old."

Finland just smiles.

•time skip brought to you by Greece's mother, Ancient Greece

Norway is about as protective as you can get without shoving the kid in a locked room and testing the food for poison yourself. Therefore, convincing him to bring said kid along on a potentially life-threatening mission full of guns and death is understandably hard.

"But you're not ready yet!" Norway fusses. "You still have so much to learn and practice and-"

I sling an arm around his shoulders. "Don't we all, Norway, don't we all." To Iceland, I mouth, 'run.'

Iceland doesn't understand me and gives me a weird look instead. Norway pushes my arm away. "Look, Norway," I say, "Ya promised him. He's good at his stuff, and at this point I think everything's gotta be learned through experience. We'll all be there to help out."

Norway deflates. "I know..." he admits at last. "Yeah, I know. I just don't want to lose him."

"We're not losing anyone," I say. "You can track us all down if you want, and Sweden can create a device to find him too."

Norway glares at me, then sweeps melodramatically out of the room.

I turn to Iceland. "Not a scratch, kiddo. I think his sanity depends on it."

"What're you talking about? I'm pretty sure he's insane already," Iceland says.

Four down, one to go!


	5. Chapter 5

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin and DenNor

Talking: *according to Hetafacts, Germania's children and grandchildren include: Prussia, HRE, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Saxony, Hesse, Bavaria and all the other German states, as well as possibly Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Liechtenstein. (He's distantly related to North Italy and America too).

Germania... How. Just. What happened here? Germania?

**Willa Kirkland is my headcanon name for Wy, and Romeo Vargas is my headcanon name for Seborga.

And yup, a long chapter. I don't want to cut it.

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki, and I do not own or claim to hold ownership over Starbucks.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Five:

"Yo!" I greet, grinning widely. "My name's Denmark! You're Sealand, aren't ya?"

Sealand nods, "I'm Sealand when I'm talking to you or Iceland or Norway, Mama said."

"I'm not your mother!" Finland protested. Sealand glanced up at him, then over at Sweden. He was holding both their hands, so they were effectively trapped.

"You're not my mother, but you're still my Mama, desu yo," he says, then looks back at me curiously. "Anyway. So you guys can all do special stuff like me?"

"Yup!" I agree. "We'll show you sometime, but right now your mama and papa are gonna show you your room." I smirk at Finland, and he just sighs sadly before letting himself be dragged along by his new son.

"Decent kid?" Norway asks.

"Decent kid," I agree, and I manage to take his hand without him punching me.

•time skip brought to you by Germania (so many kids Germania, I'm honestly impressed)*

"So Sealand has superpowers too?" I ask. Finland nods cheerily.

"Yup! Here, Sealand, would you like to explain it?" Finland said, eyes soft as he looked at his son. Sealand glanced up from playing with Denmark's Legos (Legos are a very mature thing for a twenty-four-year-old man to keep whole boxes of).

"Geokinesis, AKA Bio-Metal!" Sealand said, jumping up with a grin on his face. "It's super cool, desu yo! I can turn myself into platinum and mercury, which my old mom, Brittany, said was bad. But jerk-brother Arthur saw things that weren't there and he sometimes set stuff on fire and said it was magic, and Scott smoked a lot and said he could see the Loch Ness monster, and Dylan wanted to let the sheep in the house because they looked cold outside, so I think I'm not the one she should've been worrying about."

"How many brothers do you have again?" Tino inquires.

"I haven't seen them in years 'cause the orphanage was mean, and they're not good family because they always ignored me, so I don't have any." He crossed his arms, apparently proud of that fact. Then he glanced at Iceland. "Unless you want to, I guess... You could probably be young enough to be my brother, desu yo. You're sixteen, right? Scott was five years older than me, so it's just one year off."

Iceland paused halfway through a bite of skyr. "Excuse me?"

Tino laughed as he stood, starting toward the kitchen to check on the food cooking. "Sealand, that would be a little weird."

"Hey, so can I see?" I ask, leaning forward interestedly. Sealand nods happily, and agrees in much the same tone.

Then he holds up an arm, and I watch as his fingers change to metal. The metal spreads up his hand to his wrist and his forearm, making his arm drop down from the weight. His expression is one of utter concentration.

"Sealand! Stay out of that form when you can, okay?" Finland warns him, hurrying out of the kitchen. "The mercury will make you sick if you do that a lot."

Sealand frowns, "I feel fine." He slowly changes his arm back to flesh and bone, though, to Finland's great relief.

"When he's like that, his blood turns to liquid mercury, which can make him sick physically and mentally. It's very dangerous." He glances over at Sealand and repeats pointedly, "Very, very dangerous."

"Fine, fine, I got it," he grumbles.

"When Norway and Sweden get back from the store, maybe they can do something about it..." Iceland says.

Finland immediately shakes his head. "As much as I trust both of them, mistakes can be made and I don't want Sealand getting hurt."

"Can you stop hugging me, Mama?" Sealand asks. Finland jumps and lets go of him.

"Oh, sorry! I don't know when that happened," Finland apologized hastily. "Seriously. I have no memory of doing that. Is my memory going bad or something?"

"Probably," Sealand says. Finland laughs. It's good to see they're getting along.

•time skip brought to you by Pontus

"How?" I demand, hands clenched. "How'd they figure it out? When did they take these videos? I-"

"Denmark," Norway warns, "Denmark, you need to calm down." He glances around the room. "The rest of you, too."

I sink back into a couch cushions, but keep my eyes focused on the screen.

It's been around a year since Sealand was adopted, and everything was going perfectly. Sweden and Finland turned out to be great parents, and I was like his weird uncle (and I'll always be proud of that title. Sealand gave it to me, after all). Norway taught him and Iceland to control their powers, since he had more practice than anyone. Essokinesis is hard to control.

But today there was a headline on television. News stations had somehow gotten ahold of a clip, and it plays now, the sounds echoing through the room. We all hold our breath as we watch.

Iceland was practicing his ability to cool lava, expression carefully monitored. I was whirring around with Sealand in the background while Norway tried not to be distracted by us and gives Iceland instructions. As I watch, Finland and Sweden rush forward and take Sealand despite the boy's protests, mumbling things about how it's not good for him to go so dangerously fast. I knew it wouldn't hurt him. I wouldn't have done it if there had been even a tiny chance.

I remember that. It was less than a week ago.

The picture changes. It's me. Spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, wide grin that Norway calls obnoxious-where did they get that?

"This man goes by the code name Denmark," the announcer says, "Although his real name is Matthias Densen, as identified by his coworkers at the local Starbucks."

The others in the room turn to me. I press myself further back, because even though I would trust them with my lives we've never know each other's names, and this is so strange, and I don't think any of us know how to react.

"I always thought your human name would be weirder, desu yo," Sealand says at last. "Like Xander or something. With an X. Not a lot of things start with an X."

"Uh... Thank you?" I say.

"Listen," Norway tells us. "We need to know how much they found out."

Norway turns out to be Lukas Thomasson-Steilssen. He forces himself not to show any outward signs of the emotions I know are raging inside his head. Still, the slightest downward curve of his lip, the way he keeps his breathing pointedly even, and the way his shoulders tense show me how much he's panicking as his name is revealed. Of course, Iceland knew it already (they had been brothers long before they knew us, after all), but for the rest of us it's a surprise.

I think the name suits him, honestly, and I tell him such.

"What does that mean?" he snaps. I shift away and put my hands up in surrender.

"Just saying you've got a pretty-sounding name, man. No need to overreact," I tell him.

He sighs, "I'm not pretty, I'm gorgeous," then adds absently, "Well, they clearly know where we work, and probably where Sealand and Iceland go to school."

I glance down at Sealand, who's lying in the middle of the floor among scattered Legos. "Isn't there a privacy policy or something for the elementary schools? There might not be ones for the high-"

"Quiet," Sweden orders, and of course the whole room falls silent as Iceland's name is revealed.

Emil Thomasson-Steilssen. Of course, same surname (surnames? Does that count as two?) as Norway. He buries his head in his brother's shoulder and Norway (I just can't think of him Lukas) wraps an arm around him slowly. I don't know if he's embarrassed or scared or what, but I trust Norway will be able to take care of it.

Tino Väinamöinen fits Finland, too, in an odd sort of way. Sweden tries to pronounce it a couple times until Finland puts a finger against his lips in the most passive-aggressive way to say "please shut up now, you are hurting my ears" known to mankind. Sweden obliges, pink dusting his cheeks.

Berwald Oxenstierna is a mouthful too. He glances at me and remarks, "You've saved my life, so I'm late anyway." He works at IKEA, it turns out. I think it's hilariously stereotypical (although I don't know much about his past, I am certain he is Swedish), and I don't know why I'm surprised. He always insists we shop there, and then he knows all the employees. Plus, he's a master at doing the impossible and assembling their furniture on first try, no mistakes. That might have something to do with his powers, though.

Sealand is named Peter Kirkland, and he's not as disturbed by the rest of us knowing his name as we are. I know a Kirkland, an Arthur Kirkland, but he's too young to have any ten-year-old kids, and for all his faults (trust me, there's plenty) I can't see why he would need to give up his kid if he did have one. Sealand mostly just smiles.

"Haha! I'm on TV, desu yo! Willa and Romeo** will be so jealous..." he says, grinning.

"Hey guys," I say, "I get that this is pretty sudden, and I'm internally screaming too-"

"I'm not internally screaming," Norway interrupts.

"-but we really need to go. We have no idea how these people will react to our powers and we should get out of the area while we still can."

"What do you mean?" Finland asks as I start towards my bedroom.

"I mean, we dunno how these people are gonna react. And if try decide they don't like us, I don't want to be here for that," I tell him. "And I don't want Sealand-Peter-you know what, I'm just gonna call him Sealand... I don't want him mixed up in all this stuff."

"It's okay, Denmark!" Sealand says, jumping to his feet. "I'm brave!"

"Good." I grin and ruffle his hair. "Stay brave, okay?"

Norway says, "I'll go start packing." Sealand jumps up and scampers after him, oblivious of what's about to happen to him.

Five down, none to go. The ball's rolling, and it's too late to stop it now!


	6. Chapter 6

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Six:

Yeah, we're screwed.

Just kidding. We're not. But we would be if we were normal, that's for sure.

"Hey, take a look at this," I say. Sweden glances over my shoulder and then is silent for a long time.

"Oh," he says, as if he wasn't surprised at all by these comments. The announcement was made tonight (yesterday night? Is it after midnight already?) and we've stayed up so late. Still, it hasn't been a very long time. "Violent. And scared. We need to leave soon, I don't want Sealand here."

Sealand glances up from his breakfast, "Huh?"

"Nothing, kiddo," I assure him. I log out and close the computer, and ask Sweden, "Is there a way you could make this solar powered?"

"Yeah," he says, "Later. I'm checking on Finland now."

He walks off, ducking through a doorway, presumably to make sure Finland is ready to go. Sealand watches him for a moment, then turns to me. "Um, am I supposed to be worried, desu yo?"

"Nope! We got this all under control. We'll just leave for a couple years-we were about to register you for homeschooling anyway-and then when everyone calms down we'll come back." I grin.

"I call driving," Norway says. I remember teaching him to drive. He shoots me a glare, almost as if he read my mind. He probably remembers me learning to drive through trial and error. Lots of error. "I don't trust you."

"All right, go for it," I tell him. "Sealand, are ya all packed up?"

"Yup!" he says.

I glance at the backpack. Granted, it is a pretty big backpack, but... "Are you sure?" He nods.

"It's like we're going on vacation, desu yo! Right? Papa helped me pack, so I'll be fine," he says, carrying his empty cereal bowl to the kitchen and putting it in the sink.

"Okay, great!" I grin as Norway drops his bag (where did he get that duffel bag from? Is his Essokinesis getting that good already?) beside Sealand's backpack and the suitcases belonging to Sweden and I.

"Is Finland okay?" he wonders quietly.

"Sweden's checking on him. I'd leave the lovebirds alone for now," I reply. "How 'bout Ice?"

"He's..." Norway trails off and glances down the hall. "He'll be okay. I have it under control. I think he's tired, and he doesn't want to leave his friends."

"Has he talked to any of 'em?" I wonder.

"No," Norway says, "They haven't answered his calls."

Then he turns and hurries down the hallway, knocking lightly on Iceland's door and pushing it open. I force myself not to panic-it won't do any good now-and turn to Sealand.

"What's wrong, desu yo?" he questions. I ruffle his hair and heft Norway's duffel bag over my shoulder.

"Nothing, Iceland's just a little sad he won't be seeing his friends for a bit. He'll be fine," I promise. "C'mon, you gonna help me put this stuff in the car or what?"

Sealand picks up his bag and races out the door after me. "I'll help, if you want!"

•time skip brought to you by Carthage

Norway is, in fact, driving the dented minivan.

I put all my money into that, so I hope he doesn't wreck it. I'm beside him (I called shotgun about two seconds before Iceland did). That leaves Sweden and Finland to be behind us, since Sweden gets carsick if he can't see out the front at all and Finland refuses to leave his side. Iceland sits in the car back, phone in hand but left unused, and Sealand is smiling beside him.

"Where to?" Norway asks bluntly.

"South," I answer, "The sooner we get out of the country, the better, right? We can figure stuff out on the road."

We speed down the road, and I wonder how long it'll take for us to be considered celebrities.

•time skip is brought to you by Egypt's mother, Ancient Egypt.

"Papa, I'm hungry," Sealand complains.

"You'll have to wait," Sweden says, again.

Finland glances back at his son. "Well..." He hesitates. "Did they broadcast the message on all the news stations in the country? Are we really that weird? Or can we stop quickly at a store and get something to eat?"

"I'm not weird!" Sealand protests.

"I meant weird as in unique, Sea. Weird isn't a bad thing in the first place, though," Finland corrected. He glances around. "So?"

"I'm hungry!" I pipe up. "I dunno about the news, but I want food!"

"What if just one person goes in?" Norway suggests. "Then it'll be safer for the rest-"

I frown, "Nah, all or nothing. I'm not letting any of you guys go in alone and I sure as h-" Finland shoots me a glare "Uh, I mean, I'm definitely not. So are we or are we not? Next store? We're like five cities over by now."

"Six," Iceland corrects.

"Too big a risk," Sweden says. "No."

"But we also need food!" I whine. "And we're all hungry-don't deny it, you are too-so why not? It's not like they'll attack us on sight or anything."

"Don't jinx it," Norway says. I give him a long look.

"Saying things doesn't jinx them, Norge. You're too superstitious!" I say. "Let's just get some food!"

"Yeah, food!" Sealand calls.

Norway sighs. "Fine, or you'll drive me insane. How about after this next town, at a small place?" He glances back at Sweden for a quick moment.

"Sounds great!" Finland says, poking Sweden. He reluctantly nods, and Finland smiles. "Okay, it's settled!"

Just about twenty more minutes to go, then.

"You'll all be safe, though, right?" I ask. "Heads down, talk quietly, the usual drill?"

"What?" Sealand wonders.

"You're gonna have to be really quiet and calm in the store," I say, "You'll have to be like any other person, and we'll have to go in and out of the store real quick. Sound like something you can do?" I ask, craning my neck to look back at him.

"Yup, I can do that," Sealand says, nodding. I raise an eyebrow and he corrects himself. "Yessir!"


	7. Chapter 7

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: Yes, Norway's curl is an ero-zone (like the Italy brothers) in this fic. I'm just using it to complicate things and add humor, it's NOT going to be pulled, don't worry.

I wrote and edited this on the bus, so sorry for any spelling errors I haven't found (although I don't think there's many, because it's actually a reasonable hour!)!

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Seven:

That was a really bad idea.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, the air felt tense, crackling with invisible tension. That should've been enough warning, but I was hungry, and so was Sealand, and I just can't turn him down.

So Norway locked the car and the six of us walked somewhat-calmly to the store. It was a small general store, filled with souvenirs, advertisements, newspapers and cheap junk food Sealand couldn't take his eyes off of. We found the options least likely to give anyone a heart attack, although that's not saying much, along with an unnaturally green soda for Sealand (I'm not kidding-even the liquid was bright green, not just the bottle. It's ridiculous and kinda cool actually), and stepped up to the register.

It was around five in the morning, so no wonder the man looked so exhausted. His blonde hair was wavy and his eyes a deep blue. He stares at us vacantly.

"Uh, are you okay?" Finland asks. The man jumps and smiles apologetically.

"Oh, yes, of course! Did you find everything okay?" he wonders in an accent I can't place, taking Sealand's drink and scanning it. His name tag says 'Matthew,' I note. Sweden takes out his wallet. "You guys seem familiar. Were you on TV or something?"

I glance at Norway. He answers smoothly, "Some relatives were awhile ago. I guess we look like them. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

"Yeah," Matthew says, nodding. "Pay here. Just a bit tired. Have a nice..." He glances out the window "Night."

We turn and hurry towards the door, but as Iceland goes to open it, Matthew calls something after us. Iceland pauses, hand on the door handle. "I would be careful," he says, "You were broadcasted much further than this, I think. It's not every day a superhuman family is discovered. Some people won't be as kind."

"Thank you," Iceland says after a long hesitation, and then without looking back, steps out into the night.

•time skip brought to you by England's eyebrows

"Well, that was terrifying," Finland says matter-of-factly as soon as the car doors close. In the mirror, I see Iceland nod.

"It's okay," Sweden promises, taking Finland's hand. Iceland's eyes meet mine through the mirror. I pretend to gag as Sweden continues, "I love ya." Iceland just stares at me, then a smile darts across his lips for the smallest moment. I grin, triumphant.

"Let's go, before anyone else can identify us," Norway says, and tells Sweden to duck so he can see out the back window.

Sweden does so, and asks, "Are we stoppin' again soon?"

"Don't think so," I answer. "That guy, Matthew, was right when he said we were probably broadcasted much further. We should go as far as we can, and we can probably just stop at those visiting center places for the bathroom. There's hardly ever anyone in those freaky places."

"And Norway, you might want to wear a hat or something," Iceland adds, gesturing to Norway's floating curl. "Because that's not natural."

Norway's cheeks are dusted with pink. "Can't," he says sharply, keeping his eyes on the nighttime road. I give him a sideways look.

"Can't?" I wonder.

"Nothing can touch it," he says. "I'll just have to stay in here as much as I can."

"Why can't anything touch it?" I ask, already reaching over. "I can!" He ducks away. The car swerves wildly and Finland lets out a surprised squeak. Sealand just laughs. I'm pretty sure that kind of attitude isn't healthy, Sea.

"Just can't, now stop it," he orders. "Or I'll crash the car."

I hastily pull away. "Okay, fine. No need to be so impatient." I don't think he'll make good on his threat on purpose, but with the way he was driving he might just do it on accident.

I'm sure he would glare at me if he weren't driving, but he is, so he just grasps the steering wheel with a death grip and stares daggers into the road. Almost literally. "Norway, calm down! Okay, ya know what, I call driving," I say. "Ya can't drive if you're gonna warp some weapons into reality in front of the car. That doesn't end well for anyone."

"Wait, what?" Iceland, who can hardly see out the front window, demands. Finland offers a quiet explanation as Norway pulls over to the side of the road and we hurriedly switch places. He now uses to opportunity to glare at me full-force, and thankfully doesn't summon any weapons. That would be painful.

"How much longer?" Sealand pipes up.

"We don't know," Finland tells him, "We're not trying to go anywhere specific. Do you want to play a game to pass the time?"

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds fun!" Sealand says. "Okay, what are we playing and who wants to play?"

"I'll play," Sweden offers. Of course.

"I will too!" I volunteer, glancing back at them for half a second with a grin on my face. Norway's glare sharpens.

"No you won't," he says. "You have to drive." Then he looks back at a hopeful Sealand. "Iceland and I will play." My pouting does nothing to change his mind. Iceland's furious words don't do much either.

This is going to be a long trip, isn't it?

•time skip brought to you by Italy's curl

"E... What animal starts with E..." Norway murmurs. "Denmark, stop at the next store, all right? It's been hours, we all need to stretch... And find somewhere to sleep."

"Yessir!" I agree cheerily, on the brink of sleep-deprived laughter. "Elephant?"

"No, no, Finland did that one already. Eel," he says slowly, his eyes glassy and dim, "Eels are weird... Underwater slime snakes..."

I struggle to hold in my laughter and pull into a parking spot. "Yeah, you need some sleep."

Sealand, unlike Norway, has somehow gotten more hyper with lack of sleep. I didn't think that was even possible. Now, he shouts, "Eel! Eels are cool! That ends with an L, right? Right? L? Okay, um, llama! Llamas are cool too!"

"Quiet down a bit, we're all in the car with you," Finland says. Iceland, who has edged as far as he can away from Sealand, nods furiously in agreement.

"Alpaca," Sweden, who seems unchanged despite the complete lack of sleep, volunteers. It's nine in the morning and we didn't sleep at all. And we're still driving.

"Evil, you gave me an A," Iceland complains as we get out of the car. "Uh... We're here, so we can stop playing now."

"Doesn't look like there's anyone in here," I say. "Should I check it out?"

"Yeah," Sweden agrees. "You first, an' if there's no one there Norway an' I will go in, and Finland, Iceland, an' Sealand go last."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Finland insists.

Sweden gives him a long look. "And that's why you should stay here. Iceland and Sealand need somebody to protect them."

"I can take care of myself too!" Iceland protests.

Norway pats him rather condescendingly on the head. "I'm sure," he says absently. "Now stay back here and shout if you need help."

Iceland glares after his brother as he and Sweden hurry forward. I stay back. "He really doesn't want to treat you like a baby, he's just a little protective," I tell him. "You'll do fine. Double the protection for Sealand. And... Should he be doing that?"

Sealand glances down from the top of the car, looking like a deer in the headlights. "Iceland did it!"

"I didn't do anything!" Iceland says, stepping a few paces back. "How was I supposed to-"

"Sealand, that's bad. You don't blame your mistakes on other people," Finland chastises, holding his arms up to help Sealand down. Sealand reluctantly lets him do so.

"I was bored and hyper, what else was I supposed to do?" he pouts once he's firmly on the ground.

"You can... Just... You can rest in the car while we wait. Does that sound good?" Finland asks.

"Hey, Den! Are you coming?" Norway calls. I turn, and, seeing the area is deserted, jog forward a little too fast for a normal human.

"Yeah, hi," I say, shifting my weight uncomfortably. "Okay, we're gonna need some code names. I'm Den, obviously, and Finland is Finn. Who're the rest of you guys?"

"Lukas, Berwald, Emil and Peter, clearly," Norway tells me, leaning against the wall of the store. Sweden nods. "Our human names."

"Okay! I'm Matthias then and Finland is Tino? Tino doesn't even sound like a Finnish name," I muse, looking back at the car. "Whatever. Hey, guys back there! We'll go by our birth names!"

"Yer going first," Sweden-no, Berwald-reminds me.

"Yeah," I agree. "So if I don't come out of that place in about five minutes with somebody on my heels, it's probably safe to go in."

"Probably," Norway says.

"Yeah," I say, nodding slightly. "Probably." Then I step through the doorway.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: *GUYS ITS RANDOM INFO TIME: convenience stores and gas stations put things like newspapers, drinks, and other things a person actually goes out to buy in the back or the sides of the store. Why? So they can make you walk through a ton of cheap, good-looking food. It's a sales tactic.

Hope you guys like this chapter more than I do! Sorry it took so long, I really didn't like my first draft and therefore rewrote it a couple times.

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Eight:

It's weird how a small thing can change your life so completely. For example, your secret superhero identity being broadcasted on TV nationwide. Or when you enter a competition and you end up winning and actually have a self-esteem for the first time in years.

Either way, I shouldn't have to be nervous about walking into a store. Not even if I haven't entered any competitions lately. But I'm nervous anyway, and there's nothing I can do.

The place is mostly empty. From here I can only see one stocky, kind-of-old (he's older than middle-aged, but not quite elderly yet) man with a beard so long it looks like it could hide a house. His long blonde hair is braided and he looks suspiciously like a Viking. I've always liked Vikings, but not today.

I keep my head down as I wander through the aisles. Why do all the drinks have to be in the very back, making you walk through all the mouthwatering junk food* to get there? I don't know. They should change that.

"Hey, yer Matthias Densen, aren't ya?" someone calls. I glance up from the drinks. The somewhat elderly man I saw earlier has looked up, shouting after me.

"Y'know, it's basic manners to introduce yourself 'fore ya go around shouting at people," I remark, taking another bottle of water and letting the fridge's door slide shut.

He frowns. "Geirleif," he says gruffly. "What'd'ya think yer doing, showin' yer face 'round here?"

"I wanted some water," I say. I'm decidedly uneasy. "Just let me do my shopping in peace, man, please."

Geirleif scowls and watches me warily out of the corner of his eye as I hurry to register. I would be lying if I said I wasn't watching him too. If I can get out of here before Norway and Sweden join me...

"Hey," Norway says, appearing behind me. "Get some gum. That helps with carsickness, right?"

I swear under my breath.

"Bad timing," I tell them. Sweden glances the way I'm constantly looking. Any moves from Geirleif and... Well, say goodbye to the Nordics.

"I see," Sweden returns.

"Sure ya do," I say, adding to the cashier, "Hey, how are ya?"

"¡H-hola, me llamo Antonio! Bien, gracias," he says.^

I squint at him as he smiles. It's a weird smile. "Do you speak English?"

"Uh, y-yeah, I do," he assures us with a bright smile. Those green eyes are guileless. I hardly understand a word he's saying since he's talking so fast, but I'm reasonably sure he just said something in English.

"Uh... Sure?" I say.

"Y-yeah. Do you have..." I pull out my card and he grins oddly, pointing to the machine. His hand is shaking slightly, and I wonder if it's really that cold in here. "Yes! Good. Quickly, please. Geirleif has his soda and churros."

"Wait, what? You guys sell churros here? What kind of gas station is this?" I ask.

Antonio just smiles and pushes the two bags of food and anything else I found interesting towards us. Sweden glances at the contents, then sends me a mildly concerned glare.

"A damn good one," Geirleif grumbles as he shoves past us. He smiles slightly at Antonio.

"Sheesh, all right," Norway grumbles reproachfully. Sweden and I shoot him matching warning looks, and he quiets.

We hurry out of the store before anyone can follow. As soon as the door closes behind us, Sweden says something, garbled by his accent and general voice. I glance at him. "Uh, what was that?"

"Poor guy," he repeats.

Norway glances over at him. His eyes are slightly wider than usual as we walk back to the car. "What? Why?"

"He was terrified," Sweden explains. Quietly, he adds, "I've gotten good at noticing it."

"Oh," Norway says.

"Wait, how'd you know? He seemed fine to me, just a little weird," I say, puzzled, and I wave to Iceland as we approach. "Like, the language thing in the beginning was real weird."

"The way he was smiling was forced. His voice was higher than you'd expect, and he was speaking in his first language then. Probably his first language, at least. When you're upset or afraid, you forget the things you've learned for a second. And he was shaking," Sweden lists.

"Wait, why did he forget English?" I ask.

"I think he was more comfortable in his language, so he did that instead," Norway says. "That... Makes sense, Sweden. And Geirleif is clearly a local, and he probably realized Antonio was scared so he tried to get us out of there."

"What?" Finland wonders as we come into earshot. "Why are people scared?"

"Doesn't matter. We got some things," Norway dismisses. He glances at the bag. "Why did you get so many souvenir things, Denmark? And the cooler? Did you even get ice?"

"Because... I... They'll probably come in useful," I say nervously. I honestly don't know either. "And of course I got ice! That's for the thermos."

"Why do we ever trust you with money?" Norway wonders absently.

"We shouldn't," Iceland says.

I pout, "Hey, it's not like it was really expensive or anything! Anyway, let's go!"

"Yeah. And you're explaining to me why you scared someone," Iceland says.

I grin and ruffle his hair. "Sure, mom."

"I'm not-ugh, whatever!" Norway puts a cautious hand on Iceland's shoulder. Iceland buries his face in his hands.

"Let's go! I'm bored already, desu yo!" Sealand shouts from the car.

"All right," Finland sighs, but he's smiling. "Let's go before we terrify anyone else. I'm going with you next time."


	9. Chapter 9

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: Guess who Erland is! Please leave a review, it seriously makes me so happy. Even if it's just a smiley face. :) And you can leave a frowny face too, just please leave some constructive criticism so I know what to change!

Why is Sweden good at health-related things? I see him as a very gentle, caring character behind his stern face, so it just kinda happened.

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Nine:

The boy, no older than Sealand, is sitting on the edge of the road, knees and hands scraped and red. His cheek is turned blue and purple with bruising. His red hair is dirty, but he doesn't seem to mind. He watches the road and his surroundings with alert reddish-brown eyes, like the color of red earth.

Of course, we pull over. We can just leave him there. There's no one else in sight. As soon as he sees is, he straightens.

"Hi! Hey, who are you, desu yo? Are you okay?" Sealand chirps, bouncing forward. The boy frowns as Sealand plops down beside him. The rest of us stay a safe distance away, although Sweden and Finland are tensed.

"I'm fine," the boy says automatically. "My name's Erland."

Sealand frowns and points at his cheek. "That doesn't look fine to me."

"Oh, yeah..." Erland says. One hand goes to the bruise, fingertips hovering just above the skin. "It's not much. I fell. Who are those people?" he wonders, looking at us with narrowed eyes.

"That's my family!" Sealand exclaims. "Papa, c'mon! You're good at medicine things!" He adds to Erland, "Papa looks kinda scary, but he's actually really nice and he can help that stop hurting."

"It's not really hurting now," Erland says, leaning away as Sweden kneels beside him. Sweden stays a safe distance away. "You guys were the ones on TV, right?"

We all freeze, then I join Sweden and try to smile cheerfully. "Yup! But that doesn't matter right now, because you're hurt. Ya fell?" I ask. It doesn't look like it's possible to fall in that way, but I'm also the man who has scars on opposite sides of my arm from one fall (I bounced), so I'm not one to talk.

"Yeah," he says. Norway, Finland and Iceland are conversing quietly behind us.

"Oh, that's awful. This one time, Arthur-one of my brothers, he didn't want to take care of me when my of mom died-he knocked into me and I still have the scar! He says it wasn't on purpose, though..." Sealand says as Sweden glances over the injury.

"What's he need?" I wonder. Sweden looks back at me almost distractedly while the children keep talking. Mostly Sealand talking.

"Grammar, Denmark. Get ice and paper towels," he says. "Or any thin cloth."

"Okay!" I agree brightly, the half-turn and call, "Yo, Ice, get some one of the souvenir washcloths!"

"No," Iceland says, without even glancing my way.

"I will!" Finland volunteers, circling around to the back of the car.

"You're weird," Sweden states.

"He looks like it," Erland agrees. I frown slightly, but I can't keep the expression up long and end up almost laughing at myself.

Erland narrows his eyes and accepts the ice in the washcloth that Finland hands him. "Definitely weird." Then he turns to Sweden, "What do I do with this?"

"Put it against the bruise, then take it off in ten minutes," Sweden instructs carefully.

"Hm," Erland says, and does as told.

•time skip brought to you by Hungary's frying pan

When Erland lets us in (glancing through the windows first, and then using the spare key hidden in a box in the flower pot), the house is, honestly, like any other. It's not particularly clean, but at least it's organized.

"Can you show me? Your powers, I mean?" Erland questions, holding the ice up to his face again.

"Who's going first?" I shout.

"I will! Please, mama? Just a few seconds won't hurt, desu yo!" Sealand says, and he and Finland hold a quick staring contest. Finland blinks first. Sealand takes that as a yes.

He turns back to Erland and his joints clank as he does. Metal spreads across his face and neck, inching down towards his shoulders. "See? It's cool, right?"

Erland stares at him. "Creepy," is all he says. Sealand pouts.

"Erland, is this your room?" Norway calls. Erland glances down the hallway. The door at the end is nondescript, and the inside of the room would be normal if not for the lack of... Well, things. He has a bed and a dresser and not much else.

"Yeah. Why're you looking in there?" he asks tersely, in the desperate sort of way that really means 'get out, although I can't make you do anything you don't want to.'

"Trying to find the bathroom," Norway says.

Erland sighs. "That's definitely not it. Left."

Norway nods and disappears through another door.

We can't deny there's something strange going on here, but he manages to distract us with his Pokemon cards and ohh that Electron is cool-looking!

He seems to warm up to us a little-Sweden in particular, for some reason-after an hour or two. He's lonely. I can see it in his tensed shoulders when Iceland suggests we get back on the road, and the way he's already acting so spoiled towards Sweden (it doesn't help that Sweden is quick to do whatever he wants).

He glances at the clock. I follow his gaze. "Oh, would ya look at that! Five already."

"Yeah. You should go." Well, that's blunt.

"We probably should," Norway agrees reluctantly.

"Ice your bruises," Sweden says.

Erland just rolls his eyes. "Please. I know all this already, no need to keep saying it."

So we're quickly ushered out the door, and Sweden calls driving. He says it's only because he gets to pick the music. (I plan to make Norway to do it for me, so his strategy will be useless.)

I wonder, as Sweden turns on radio station and Norway makes no move to change it, whether we'll see Erland again.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: Erland is Ladonia~ I was thinking, very early on, of including him in the main group but decided that writing six main characters was stretching it already.

And coffee is love. Coffee is life. Or so my family says (I refuse to drink it because I'm a stubborn person and I usually get enough sleep).

SEALAND IS SO WEIRD AND YET I LOVE HIM. I also don't know how he gets by in this family. I mean, Sweden and Finland are obviously overprotective, and it's been shown that Norway gets really overprotective too (although usually over Iceland but I could see hm acting like that with other people), and Denmark is generally protective of the whole family. Like. How are he and Iceland supposed to do anything ever?

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Ten:

We sing the hours away in the car, swaying and tapping our feet and occasionally violently head banging in time with the music we take turns choosing. And by 'we,' I mean Finland and I. Sweden, Norway and Iceland choose to keep their dignity. I say dignity is overrated.

Finally, nightfall approaches. I'm so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open, while poor Sealand fell asleep a while back. The only one of us who looks anywhere near 'awake' is Iceland, who has a wacky circadian rhythm because teenagers are weird, and seems fine with the lack of sleep.

Sweden finally pulls over. "Don't trust my driving anymore," he grunts. "We need sleep."

"Okay! I'm cool with that, let's sleep," I agree. Finland makes a soft pillow, so I lean on him (Sweden makes a sort of low, rough noise in the back of his throat-I think he swallowed wrong or something) as I try to sleep.

I blink, and then I wake.

"Mama, Papa! Everybody wake up! Can we have breakfast?" Sealand begs. "My leg fell asleep and I wanna walk around!"

I stir sleepily. "Don't wake up your mama, he nearly killed me one time."

Sealand pauses in the act of shaking Finland's shoulder. "Wait, what?"

"Don't do it," Norway says. "Iceland, take Sealand and walk around outside a bit. Sweden and Denmark and I will figure out how to wake Finland up safely."

"No," Iceland said absently, eyes not flickering from the window. "Sealand will be fine."

"Iceland..." Norway sighed. "All right. Sealand, stay within arm's reach of the car."

"Isn't that too protective?" I ask. Sealand seems happy with it, though, and jumps out of the car with a grin on his face.

Sweden gives me an odd look. "No..."

I shrug. Fair enough. "Okay! To wake up Finland, let's all get out of the car, take his guns, and have Norway summon something to poke him with."

"No," Sweden says again.

"I'm not summoning anything," Norway tells me.

"But I'm getting out of the car," Iceland adds, opening the door and climbing out.

I stare after him as he closes the door and starts fending off Sealand. "He said he didn't want to do that... Like, just a minute ago? Why's he doing it now?"

"Cause he's the one making the choice," Finland says.

I start and bang my head on the ceiling. "Ow! Finland! You're awake!"

"Yeah," Finland says. "Who woke me up?"

"He did," we say in unison, glancing at each other.

"Which one of you?" Finland demands.

"Him!" I say, and we all start pointing fingers.

•time skip brought to you by America's burgers

"Do you think we'll run into any other superhumans while we're out here?" Finland wonders sweetly. I nurse the bruise I got trying to save Norway. We all got hit in the end, except for Sealand.

"Maybe," Norway replies, shrugging lightly. "Probably not." He doesn't take his eyes off the road.

"How many of us are there, even?" I ask.

"Approximately 468,750. So not very many," Norway supplies. The car falls silent.

"You're creepy," Iceland says. "People shouldn't know that off the top of their heads."

Norway glances around at us. "I do my research, you know. It's more common than albinism even."

"Oh." I look out the window. The sky is empty and blue and endless. "Didn't you know an albino guy a long time ago?"

"Yeah," he says stiffly. "Anyway, we tend to have closer genetics-not always families, just from the same region. And that's all I know, so shut up and-Sweden, what are you doing?"

Sweden removes the map from his face and I can almost see the insanity in his eyes. Almost. We haven't managed to drive him insane yet, which means we need to work harder. Where'd his glasses go? "Reading a map," he says. I think so, at least.

"Why is it an inch from your face?"

"Sealand took my glasses."

We all look at Sealand. "I needed something to be Papa with." He's wearing Sweden's glasses, peering over them at us.

Iceland edges a little further away from us. He's already in the far back, pressed against the wall, but apparently as far away as physically possible is not far enough.

"Uh, what?" I ask intelligently.

"Papa gets to make big decisions and fight bad guys, desu yo," Sealand tells us, adjusting the glasses.

"No, Sealand, you'll have to wait," Finland says, his smile slightly strained.

Then a phone rings loudly. I jump and turn half-around. "Wait, whose was that?"

Iceland freezes, then scrambles to take out his phone.


	11. Chapter 11

Eleven

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: To clarify: this is set in Canada! Kinda random, but Europe is way too small (when I see it compared to US states I have to laugh, I'm so sorry) and they have to live in the north because they are the Nordics-but they can't live in Asia because Siberia is not a nice place to live, as I understand it. They lived in northern Manitoba, so that would be about 28 hours to get to Michigan, USA. Although guys, America really isn't the place to go for help like this.

I had planned this to be much longer, but I think I might have to end it a little early (don't worry, I WILL end it properly, it just might seem a little abrupt). Sorry, but I'm really hardly getting anything from this story (and by 'anything,' I mean reviews, favs, etc.) and that's really what keeps me writing. (Lol I have no motivation ever.)

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Eleven:

"Hello?" Iceland says, and the rest of us keep quiet despite the curiosity simmering just under the surface. Except Sealand, who starts asking a question and is shushed by Finland. It's quiet enough that I can hear a feminine voice mumble something through the phone.

"The code names weren't my idea, trust me," Iceland says. "And I doubt you would've believed me."

More mumbling. "How did he..." A short pause. "Should've known."

A question, this time. "I-yeah. Of course. Nine?" I have no clue what he's talking about, but I think he's talking to Michelle. "Okay, bye."

He hangs up, then takes a deep breath. "Just Michelle. She... I'll call her later. How far away are we from home?"

"About 19 hours," Norway replies.

"How do you know everything, desu yo?" Sealand wonders.

Norway glances back at him, glare softening only slightly. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Stop with the creepiness," Iceland orders. "Um... When do you think we'll go back?"

"Dunno, but we don't really have anywhere to go right now, since home isn't safe," I say. Sweden glares at me. "What?"

"Stop sayin' sad things," Sweden orders.

Norway shrugs. "True facts , even when not beneficial to us, should not be ignored. We can't just forget part of reality."

"Wait, since when have you wanted to stand up for Denmark?" Sealand asks.

I jump. Sealand's right. Norway was actually agreeing with me! "Aw, thank you sweetie! Love you too!"

"Call me 'sweetie' again and I will violently murder you," Norway says.

I suppress a shudder. "Oh, you'll kill me violently? Never would've guessed that-"

"Calm down!" Finland orders as Norway lunges for me and the car swerves.

Norway sheepishly-if he can ever be called that-returns to his seat and Finland glares. Finland's glare is scarier than Sweden's because he's usually so nice. It's like having a cute little puppy bite you, except this puppy is a sniper.

"So, we're not going back home?" Iceland asks in his quiet voice.

We're all quiet for a moment, even Sealand. Then, Norway: "Do you want to?"

"My friends are waiting for me," he says, and focuses on the scenery outside the window that's been the same for the past few hours. He tilts his head slightly, and his hair falls in front of his face.

"But you? Do you want to go back?" Norway presses.

Iceland hesitates, then, "Yes."

"Then we'll go home," Norway says with a shrug, as if it's the simplest thing in the world.

I jump. "But-"

"Then we'll go home," Norway repeats.

"But we could get hurt!" Finland protests. "I get that Iceland wants so go back but there's probably people who are scared or angry and I don't want Sealand-"

"It'll be fine," Norway says. "We've been away for awhile, so they've probably calmed down."

Sweden looks downright murderous, but then again, he usually looks like that. "Probably?"

Norway nods. "It's not like they can-"

I stare at him. "No, definitely not! You guys could get hurt!"

I see him roll his eyes and let his gaze linger on his brother. "Ice?"

"I... Whatever," Iceland says.

"See? He totally agrees with us!" I look away from the window for a few moments, long enough to see Iceland shake his head and sigh before glancing away.

"I don't think saying 'whatever' is an agreement, Denmark," Norway says. "If Ice and I want to go home, we'll go home."

"What if the rest of us don't want to go home?" I challenge.

"I survived once without you. I can do it again," he tells me, and my blood runs cold.

"Wait...Y-you're not saying we should... Split up or anything, right?" I ask, hardly daring to voice my question. We haven't been separated since we met.

"Let's stop for the night," Finland says nervously.

Norway's level gaze is all I need to understand, and silence reigns.

I pull over.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: Uh, I'm literally less than a week from moving several hours away, plus I have another 40,000 words to plan for in July, so I am very busy! Sorry if I update slower than usual!

By the way, I have now abandoned my plot outline. Think plot bunnies in my direction, please-but reviews and PMs would be even more effective!

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Twelve:

Norway's decided to take his chances.

He summoned another car a few hours ago-a nice one, I'm pretty sure, but the again I don't know much about cars-and he's still sleeping in the back. Iceland sits ramrod straight and keeps his face carefully emotionless like Norway always does. It doesn't look right on him.

"Should we... You know... Go? They can take care of themselves," Finland says quietly.

"Yeah, probably," I agree. "All right! I call dibs on driving!" I force a smile to show Sealand that everything's fine and take my seat. Cautiously, Sweden slides into the other seat.

"You okay?" he asks, probably. It doesn't sound like that.

"Yeah, fine," I assure him as I put the key in the ignition. My hands are shaky. "Let's go."

•time skip brought to you by Belarus's cardboard

One hour, two hours, a day. Time stretched on and still I didn't think they had really left-was this some kind of prank, maybe?

"Hey, Den, listen to me," Sealand says, climbing into the passenger's seat where Sweden usually sits. I glance back at him.

"As that any way to address your elders?" I ask, trying my best to keep a straight face.

"Clearly, 'cause I just did it." Sealand smirks, then continues, "When are Norway and Iceland gonna visit, desu yo?"

"Why do you add that on the end of your sentences?" I wonder, avoiding the question, because even though I know the answer I don't want to say it. It makes it sound permanent. Norway once said to trust your gut, so I think I'll do that now.

"One of jerk-brother's Arthur's friends, nice man named Kiku something-I-don't-remember said it would make me cuter and therefore more people would follow my orders, desu yo," Sealand says. He shifts uncomfortably. "Probably."

I shrug and go back to fiddling with the radio.

"You didn't answer my question. When are we seeing Norway and Iceland?" Sealand points out after a few seconds of watching me.

"I know I didn't answer you," I say.

There's a short, expectant silence. I choose to ignore it.

"So?"

"We're not."

•time skip brought to you by South Korea's soul, Seoul

"Oh hey! Look, bruder! It's those guys who were on TV!"

"I'm sure... Please calm down, Gilbert."

The two are polar opposites. The first-who has white hair and red eyes and a grin on his face-is jumping up and down like a little kid. The second-who is taller and has the more normal blue eyes and blonde hair-is reading a book and trying his best to ignore 'Gilbert.'

These rest stop places are usually empty, but apparently not today.

"Look, Sweden, it's the random guy from the middle of nowhere!" I whisper, pointing towards him. It comes out louder than I thought it would but Gilbert still doesn't hear it. A miracle, really. I think he sees me, though.

"I'm gonna go say hi!" Gilbert decides. His brother catches his sleeve as he starts toward us.

"Gilbert! That is rude! You will sit here and wait for Elizabeta to finish fixing the car!" he orders.

I rush forward, grinning. "It's you!"

Gilbert smiles. "See, bruder, everyone has heard of my awesomeness!"

The man sighs but watches cautiously as Gilbert and I fistbump. "What's your name again?" he asks, tactless.

"Matthias," I answer. "And you're the awesome Gilbert?"

"Ja! That's me!" he says-or, shouts. It all sounds the same.

"Cool!" I shout back.

•time skip brought to you by the Hetalian Empire

"So you really hadn't heard of me?" Gilbert pouts.

"Nope, but I'm glad I've met you now," I say.

Sweden, Finland and Ludwig (as he introduced himself, his tone apologetic) watch us in utter confusion.

"Bruder, please, leave them alone," Ludwig pleads. "I'm sure they just want to continue on their way."

"No, no, it's fine," Finland assures him quickly. "It's really nice to meet someone who's friendly!"

"I..." Why does Ludwig look frustrated? "All right. We'll have to go soon, though."

Finland is right. It's nice to talk to someone who's friendly, even if it won't last for long.


	13. Chapter 13

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: Just a couple days from moving! :D

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Thirteen:

"Den... Denmark!" Finland called, hands slamming onto the hood of the car. I jumped, then glanced up at him. I opened the car door and got out, bewildered, as he began to explain.

"Denmark, you have to go. Iceland's panicking and Norway is probably still unconscious. Sweden and Sealand will be here in a second, Iceland called-"

"Slow down!" I told him. Sweden approached, carrying a partly-metallic Sealand. "What happened first?"

"I was helping Sealand turn back to human and Iceland called me. Speaking of-" he glanced back at Sweden, who put Sealand down. The boy was quickly turning back into a human form, pale skin covering metallic plates. "Never mind."

"Sealand is safe," I assured him. Finland's like a brother to me. I don't like seeing him scared. Or, to take Sweden's perspective, a sister. "What did Iceland say when he called you?"

There was a thousand things racing through my mind, but I had to be calm. Or as calm as someone like me can be.

"Iceland said that those guys who kidnapped Norway awhile ago? They can track their phones now. When we spilt up they thought they could take just the two of them. Norway got hit in the head while defending Iceland and knocked unconscious. They've left Iceland alone-for now-but he can't help Norway because he still didn't have complete control and he doesn't want to hurt himself or Nor," Finland said, rapid-fire, quick and sudden and all at once.

Sealand-now fully human-bounced off, and Sweden took his place at Finland's side. Steady. Constant. Always. Arm around his shoulders, face in as close to a comforting smile as he can make it. It looks like a grimace, but Finland knows. Of course.

Suddenly, I think of Norway.

"Okay," I said, because that was all I could think of with other thoughts swirling, darting through my head, "Where are they?"

"What?" Finland asked, then nodded. He straightened. "They're a few miles past Erland's, uh, house. Quickly!"

I lean down and adjust my boots, and they pull tight to my ankles. "Follow me, and keep Sealand safe, okay?"

Then I take off.

•time skip brought to you by England's pirate phase

"Ice!" I shout, and the gravel on the edge of the road goes flying as I stop. "Iceland, are you okay?"

His silvery hair is dirty and his skin is streaked with blood. Right now, he doesn't seem to care. His head is buried in his hands, and his shoulders shake with silent sobs.

"Iceland, where's Norway?" I ask. He looks up at me, tears at the corners of his eyes.

He points down the road. "They took him that way..."

"Who are they?" I question. Iceland wipes his tears away and forces his mouth into a scowl.

"Hell if I know," he says, "One of the guys you fought."

I pat his head. "Thanks, Ice," I tell him. "Wanna come help?"

He nods wordlessly. I pick him up with a grunt. Before he can protest, we're off.

•time skip brought to you by Britannia Angel

They're not far. Not very logical, but I guess they thought we had stopped communicating all together.

I put down Iceland quickly because he's too heavy for me to carry for long. He scowls at me but has the good sense to stay quiet.

They've paused, and I can see Norway, gun held to his head and hands bound so he's unable to summon anything to escape with. He stares forward with a dull gaze, eyes flicking lazily between his captors. He doesn't look panicked like how Iceland was.

There are three opponents that I can see. The first man, pale-skinned, raven-haired and red-eyed who stands talking to the second, who has dark skin and curls of brown hair pulled back in a tight bun. A woman, who has blonde hair that almost brushes her shoulders, has her finger on the trigger. If Norway moves...

I glance at Iceland and jerk my head toward the two men. "Can you handle them?" I ask.

Slowly, he nods. "I just need to be a little closer."

"Can you handle yourself? Are you okay with that?" I wonder.

Iceland pauses. He stares at the two men. "For Norway, I can," he tells me.

"Okay," I say, and glance back. "Okay, cool. I'll get the woman. Don't attack until I have the gun out of her hands. I don't want anybody getting hurt."

He nods and moves slowly towards the two. One of them laughed, a short, barking sound, and the other scowled. Iceland waits and watches.

I study the area. The road is asphalt but their car is pulled over onto the grass, so it'll be harder for me to find purchase there. Norway is sitting in the car, the door open so he can be halfway out. If I tell him to move, how quickly could he do that?

I don't know, and that's the thing. Norway was always supposed to be the one with the smart ideas. He was always planning something.

Well, I'll just run and take her gun and hope for the best from there.

I glance around one more time. Bushes rustle off to the side, but I take no notice of them. Probably just the wind, or a small animal.

Feet pound against the ground as I rush forward.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: Hey guys you know what I love? REVIEWS! :)

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Fourteen:

I've met that woman before.

I don't have time to process. My hand is already moving and I knock the gun out of her hand. I stop, the gun dropping to the ground. Norway starts, eyes wide.

"It's-what the-how did you get here?" the woman stutters, but I kick the back of her heel and she crashes to the ground, knocked out cold. Blonde hair falls around her head like a halo. She doesn't deserve a halo if she kidnapped Norway.

"Denmark?" Norway asks. "What-how'd you get here?"

Behind me, I can hear Iceland scrambling for purchase on the too-smooth grass. I can hear him gasping for breath. He messed up. What went wrong? I risk a glance over my shoulder.

"What the hell," I say, then turn back. "Norway! If I free you, you're gonna make a wall to protect Ice," I tell him, already working at his handcuffs. Dammit, Sweden was always better at this kind of stuff.

I turn around and take the woman's jacket, ignoring her familiar blue eyes. I scramble for the keys to the handcuffs-the front pocket, of course-and shout to Iceland, "Get away as quick as you can! And concentrate on your lava!"

"It would be easier to concentrate without you screaming at me!" Iceland yells back, but he hurried backward. I hear the rustling of leaves and my head whips back around.

Nothing.

I look back at Iceland's fight, feeling panic rise in my chest. I can't help Norway and Iceland both, not at the same time.

The red-eyed man held his hands out in front of him, towards Iceland, steam sizzling in the air around him as water meets lava, rock hardening and crumbling unevenly between them. The second man has ducked behind him, knife in hand but not daring to leave the relative shelter of his friend's water shelter.

Iceland glances my way. "The hell are you doing? Help me!"

I nod, flash him a grin (I hope is reassuring), and turn to Norway. "Um, here you go." Quickly, I unlatch the handcuffs. Norway is on his feet as soon as I can move out of the way, and moments later he's summoned two knives.

"Get away," he shouts, "from my little brother!" I would swear it was louder than anything I had ever heard from him before.

Last second, the blunt handles of Norway's knives hit instead of the sharp blades. Two bodies slump to the ground, unconscious, a thin sheet of water and rock-bubbly pumice, was it?-raining down on them. The knives drop down beside them.

"Iceland! Are you okay?" Norway calls, rushing forward. Iceland half-turns, and by then his brother has him caught up in a hug.

"I'm fine," Iceland insists, pulling away. "Quit it!"

"No," Norway says. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Iceland says.

"How'd Denmark get here?" Norway wonders vaguely, gesturing back towards me.

"You could ask me, you know," I say, and of course Norway completely ignores me.

Iceland frowns. "I called him because he's fast and would do anything for you."

"Huh?" Norway asks, glancing back. I kneel beside the woman. Where do I know her from? "He would?"

"And you call him oblivious," Iceland says, rolling his eyes. "And let go of me!"

Norway ignores him and hugs him tighter. I'm half-paying attention to their conversation (it's about me right now, to be fair) and half trying to figure out who this woman is. Strong jaw, short, sandy blonde hair, sharp eyes as blue as the sky.

Oh, I remember.

This is the woman who caught Sweden the first time he got kidnapped, back when I first met him. That was years ago. No wonder I could hardly recognize her.

So what does this mean?

I watch her carefully. Is her breathing speeding up? Why would that be happening? Is she still knocked out?

I stand up, backing away slowly. "Hey Norway, I think this one's waking up," I say. Norway glances back and pulls Iceland with him to stand almost at my side-not quite.

Yes, the girl's breathing has definitely sped up. She's not awake yet, though. Or...

She lunges for the gun and before I can register, it's loaded and pointed at Iceland.

"Don't ya dare move, any of you," she hisses as she sits up. "I'll shoot."

I glance at Norway. If he moves his hand to summon a block... Could he do it in time? If I knock it out of her hands... Would she see me tense before I moved and shoot Iceland anyway?

Iceland, eyes wide, is frozen stock still. No one moves. The woman's eyes flicker between the three of us, watching each of us carefully.

"Okay..." she says. "Good. Denmark, you were the cheeky little bastard who punched me in'a the wall and reported me ta the police, weren't ya?"

Norway glances at me, a questioning look in the curve of his eyebrow and the tilt of his mouth. Iceland hasn't moved at all.

"Yeah," I say, and glance over her shoulder. A movement in the bushes caught my eye.

Erland.

No!


	15. Chapter 15

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: The Internet was for once unhelpful despite the many different ways of looking up how to treat... What happens in this chapter. (No spoilers!) So I'm just gonna hope nobody feels like checking out my search history (lol that'd give somebody a scare) and use background knowledge (AKA Girl Scouts) and logic. Please don't do this if someone's actually hurt like that.

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Fifteen:

Erland raises a finger slowly to his lips. I wouldn't have said anything anyway.

He looks even worse than before. Dried blood runs down his forehead, flaking away at his cheek. A nasty gash has dyed his hair dark scarlet instead of the usual fiery orange-red.

"What're ya looking at?" the woman demands. Erland ducks down again as she looks back, eyes narrowed.

She sees nothing, and looks back at us. "No games, kay? Are they dead or unconscious?" she asks, gesturing to her companions.

"Unconscious," I tell her when Norway and Iceland don't make a sound.

"Good, you're not lying... Yet." She suddenly straightens. "Where're Berwald and the others? Didn't ya have more superhumans on your little team?"

"Yeah. They're several miles up the road," I say slowly. Berwald is... Sweden, right? That definitely sounds more like a Sweden kinda name than a Finland one. Why can't I remember this stuff?

"How far are they?" she demands. We glance at each other.

"We dunno, they just said they'd be here, and I came up ahead," I explain.

"Probably more than forty miles," Iceland guessed.

"Yeah," Norway agreed. "This is pretty far from where they started."

He glanced my way, then back at the bushes. Evidently, he had seen Erland.

I give the tiniest nod and still the woman sees it. She whips he head toward me and Norway flinches, just the slightest bit.

The gun's pointing at him.

How does she move that fast? She's just a normal human, right?

Erland, behind her, disappears into the undergrowth. Where's he going?

"You don't move without my permission!" she barks.

"I won't," Norway promises, stilling. I tense. He doesn't care about himself as much, so I can't help but think he'll do something risky... "Why were you trying to catch us? Were you trying'a use us to do something?"

Several things happen at once.

One-I realize she's completely insane.

Two-Erland jumps out of the bushes.

Three-she pulls the trigger and the gun goes off.

I jump forward and barrel into her. She's knocked to the side but I couldn't have hit her in time because all that blood has to come from somewhere.

One second and I'm pinning her down, and I punch her, pain flaring in my hand but now she's out cold, at least. The second after that I'm on my feet again, checking to see who got hurt.

It's not Norway, Norway is fine. So I must've knocked her aim off a little bit. It's not Iceland either, because he's just startled, his eyes wide and breathing shallow.

Erland... Erland is in front of Norway. His eyes are screwed shut and his breath is gasping, but his arms have been brought tight to his chest as he curls in on himself.

"Erland?" Norway asks, and for once his disbelief is clear in his voice. He drops to Erland's height, eyes wide.

Iceland and I hurry forward. "Erland, what-where?"

Tears roll down his cheeks as he chokes and gasps for breath. His eyes start to roll back into his head as he holds out his arm toward me. It's mostly still there.

Mostly.

So that's where all the blood was coming from.

•time skip brought to you by Canada's invisibility

Finland's eyes are wide as he stares at the unconscious, blood-covered boy in my arms. "What the-who? You have those three tied up now, right?" Finland demands, glancing up at us with wide eyes. "Iceland, you and Sealand go watch and make sure nobody's coming and that they're not waking up. If either of those things happen, yell. Denmark will be there."

Iceland seems almost relieved to be given orders, for once. Sealand's eyes are wide and he's clinging to Iceland's side. The older boy takes a deep breath, then murmurs quiet assurances to him as they leave.

"Denmark, put him down and get me string. Finland's knitting is in the passengers seat," Sweden says shakily, barely understandable. He glances at Finland. "Cut off circulation, right?"

Finland, whose face is ghostly pale, nods and swallows as I lay Erland on the ground. "Yeah. Those fingers-they-they're pretty much gone already."

I race off, heart pounding in my chest.

I don't think I'll ever get that image out of my head.

Hours later, and Erland is at the hospital. The rest of us stand together outside the emergency room.

"Den-thanks for coming to rescue me, I guess," Norway says, breaking the silence. He says it almost as an afterthought-as if I'm something to be taken for granted.

I give him a strained smile anyway. It's Norway.

"No problem."


	16. Chapter 16

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: So at the beginning of writing the chapter I wrote "The move is now over with and I am now less stressed and updates will probably be coming more regularly!" right here but guess what? PRANKED. Camp NaNoWriMo is here so I'm busy writing 50,000 words and driving myself insane. Sorry, updates aren't going to be that regular.

Please review/PM plot bunnies! I love talking to other people about my plot, as it both helps me with the story and lets me meet other Hetalians! Yay for friends!

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Sixteen:

We're not allowed into the ER room because we're not family, but we can stay in the waiting room with crowds of other nervous men and women. It's almost silent, every once in awhile the quiet pierced by a low whisper or a sniff, but it's okay. We're okay. That's what we keep telling ourselves, anyway.

Two hours, no news.

Three hours, some news. He's in a worse condition than he looked at first.

Four hours, Sealand is on the brink of a panic attack. I don't think he realized up until now that people could get hurt like that, especially so easily.

After five hours, we give up and herd Sealand out of the building, leaving a phone number and a message with a nurse.

The town is small, and closer to home than we wanted, but it has a good hospital and the people don't seem to recognize us on sight. We stay here, for now. Because of the size, the hotel is cheap, and we stay there for now. No reason to settle in.

Sweden is fixing this random guy's boat. Apparently he knows how they work. I shouldn't be surprised, but hey, he seems more like the furniture type to me.

Sweden works on the boat during the day and helps take care of Sealand at night. Finland does the same, except he's never told us what he does during the daytime.

Norway and I-well. We do odd jobs-mowing lawns and such. I try and see if we can do it together, but usually we can't or Norway doesn't want my help.

Iceland can apparently babysit, and I shouldn't have been surprised by that either, considering the amount of time he spends with Sealand. Usually, the rest of us go out, but Iceland is too antisocial so he stays home with Sealand. We let him officially babysit two times before we figured out that he just gave Sealand six bowls of cereal for dinner and I vowed to make sure that he at least marries someone who will be a better parent.

Last resort, Norway can conjure something.

"Hey, Denmark," Norway says, pausing, phone held away from his mouth. "What's Erland's last name?"

"Uh... Dunno. Did he ever tell us?" I ask, hands pausing. "Why's it matter?"

"Erland won't tell them and they need to know in order to contact his parents," Norway says slowly, glaring.

"I don't know," I say defensively. "I don't think he told us!"

"He didn't tell us," Norway says into the phone. "Yes, I know."

And then he hangs up, and I shrug, and he usually would've flipped me off but instead he just gives me a light glare and now I'm worried.

•time skip brought to you by the poll on my profile! ;)

"You sure you'll be okay?" I ask, hand on his shoulder, and Iceland nods as he pushed me away.

"These are my friends. You don't have to be worried, Mom," he says, rolling his eyes at me.

"Okay, I am not your mom. I'm your dad. Norway's your mom," I say. "Wait, no. That's messed up."

Iceland covers a smile with his hand, I pat him in the head, and he slaps me before leaving. Well, he takes after Norway for sure.

Li Xiao and Michelle are here. I hope he'll be okay.

•time skip brought to you by the Eyebrow Curse

"So how'd it go?" I wonder.

"Okay," Iceland says.

"Were they happy? Angry?" I press, and he glances up at me.

"They were okay," he says.

"What's that mean?" I wonder, studying his face for a reaction, but he keeps his expression carefully blank.

Yeah, definitely took after Norway.

"Surprised and a little angry but once I explained everything to them they were fine with it. Will you leave me alone now?" he asks, glaring at me, lavender eyes turned to ice.

"Sheesh, fine. Cool that you got them to listen though," I say, and he glares, so I back off. "Um, so, I'll go do something else then."

Iceland ignores me and keeps his phone always within arm's reach.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: We Were Never Human

Rating: T

Pairings: SuFin, DenNor

Talking: So I went on a writing spree and came back a week later like "yes I should write more and drive myself UP THE WALL (not that I can go much further, I'm pretty much hanging from the ceiling at this point)." But the first sentence of this chapter was all the notes I had. That's not a plan. That's not a plot. *cries*

Also, I kinda want to write a Sherlock fic now...? (Lol don't worry I'm still in Hetalia hell). Anyways, whichever option wins the poll MIGHT be postponed until I write that fic (unless it's the one about China, because I finished it and wouldn't have to write them at the same time).

Ahem, anyways... Enjoy the last chapter! :D

Disclaimer: I do not hold or claim to hold any sort of ownership or rights over the characters in this story; they belong to Hetalia/Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, the basic outline of all superpowers was provided by Superpower Wiki.

Denmark - Mathias Densen

Norway - Lukas Thomassen

Iceland - Emil Steilssen

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna

Sealand - Peter Kirkland

Finland - Tino Väinamöinen

We Were Never Human: Seventeen:

Erland is in the hospital due to the loss of two fingers from a gunshot and minor child abuse, including bruises, scrapes and muscle tears.

That's what the official report says, anyway.

"I knew there was something wrong with the house," Norway tells me, reading over my shoulder.

"Ya don't say," Sweden agrees, at least, I think that's what he said.

"Wait, what? But Erland seemed so happy!" Sealand chirps, eyes wide.

Iceland sighs, "I think you have a weird definition of what happy is."

"How are you all reading over my shoulder? Guys? Especially you Sealand, you're a lot shorter than me," I say, glancing back at them. "Oh, Sweden's holding you."

Sweden nods and adjusts Sealand's position on his hip. The boy just beams at me.

"So what're we gonna do? Like, we can't let Erland go back to his family, right?" I ask.

"Make him family," Sweden says.

"Su, I don't think that's a good idea. You already did that to Sealand and I," Finland interrupts. Sweden shrugs.

"We should ask the kid first," Norway decides.

"But we're not allowed to see him," I reply, confused. "How are we supposed to talk to him?"

"Oh no," Norway says flatly. "Looks like the only way we can talk to him is to adopt him."

"But that wouldn't-you know what? I give up! Sure, that sounds great, let's do it!" I decide, and flash a grin. Iceland smiles slightly.

"Do you want a brother, Sealand?" Finland asks.

"Number one: yes, I want a brother! I can teach him how to follow my orders and I won't be like jerk-brother Arthur. Number two: I think that since he doesn't have a country name, we should use our normal names because we don't have to call each other codes anymore because people know us anyway," Sealand says.

Sweden nods, "Makes sense." Norway and Iceland shrug at the same time, and then Iceland shoots Norway a glare. Finland nods cheerfully and I beam.

"Sounds good!" I say. "So, who knows how to adopt people?"

"We do!" Finland says, pulling Sweden closer.

Iceland interrupts, "But what if he doesn't want to be adopted by us?"

"Well, since they ruled it child abuse, he'll be put up for adoption unless he has a godparent, right?" I ask.

"No, idiot. He's not telling them is surname, so they wouldn't be able to find or prove his godparent's relations," Norway corrects, walking back to the other side of the table as he finishes his coffee.

"Oh," I say sadly. "Oh well, whatever! As long as we're all happy, right?"

"I'll go call the hospital about it," Finland says, pulling out his phone. "But we're going to have to find a Nordic micronation for him to be. We don't want him feeling left out."

"Okay!" Sealand says, and Sweden puts him down so he can run off and find an atlas.

Six of us, in total.

•later, at a time I will not specify•

Erland is given the nickname of Ladonia, and now there's six of us. Erland doesn't have superpowers-if you don't count his insane Pokemon knowledge and the ability to make even Sweden play with him.

Now that we were revealed, superhumans have been popping up all over-usually in groups of four or five. Families, we call ourselves, although we're almost never blood-related.

It's a job. We help the policemen and we get enough money to live off of. It's not dangerous and if we're hurt, we don't have to try and patch it up ourselves. As we always have our family to fall back on.

And we're happy here. We didn't have to run as far as we thought. Safe at last.

Our ending, like in all other immensely clichéd stories, was a happily ever after.


End file.
